Keep People on Earth

Published: October 19, 2003

To the Editor:

The unquestioned assumption in ''Fly Me to the Moon,'' by William E. Howard III (Op-Ed, Oct. 14), is that the United States needs a manned space program. We do not.

The spectacular successes of robotic exploratory missions have demonstrated that, for science missions, there's no need to have humans in space. Closer to Earth, the commercial satellite business has thrived without a human presence.

I grew up in the 60's and was enthralled by the manned space program, and the space enthusiast in me would be delighted to see us land people on Mars. But I'm convinced that the time is not ripe for such a program. I would much sooner have the space budget focus on high-quality robotic scientific missions and on fundamental research into new space transportation alternatives, like a space elevator, that could dramatically lower the cost of putting payloads into space.